Fitting coilovers to 3.0tdi Quattro

[JMGR33N]

Hey all

Any hints, tips or anything I should be aware of before fitting my coilovers to my a4 avant 3.0tdi Quattro?

Fitted many sets of coilovers but every model has its qwerks! ;-)

If any one knows of a guide for my model specifically that'd be awesome.

Cheers
James

 

[Matt10160]

1st tip, dont touch the top arms on the front, 2nd tip leave a weekend free or 2days. Just in case!

 

[JMGR33N]

Haha

What's the reason for not touching the top arms? Would it not be easier to get the struts in and out?

 

[Matt10160]

If you scroll through tge pages you'll see how many people have made the error of trying to remove the pinch bolts, they tend to be seized/bent, this makes them an asshat to get out. And its unneccassary. Once you have freed off the bottom of the shock and managed to clamp the springs down which is a complete pig, your better off using a ratchet strap than compressors) you can manipulate the top mount to come out. All that you need to do is swing the assembly out of the arch and undo the strut nut. The rears are the bigger job tbh, you'll more than likely need to drop the rear sub-frame to remove the standard spring as it doesnt drop down much, if at all. The other thing i'd duggest is once everything (this applies to front and rear) is loose and you have the springs and shocks out, act fast. Mine all decided to retract meaning i had to force the hubs back down.

Hope some of that makes sense and doesnt scare you... But its no 10 minute job!

 

[JMGR33N]

That's all makes perfect sense, thanks very much bud that's a great help. Good to know where the tricky bits are so they don't come as a surprise.

Can you not get the rear springs out with compressors rather than dropping the subframe?

Subframe drops not too bad on the rear so if it has to be that then no biggie. ;-)

Thanks again bud.

 

[Matt10160]

Erm, depends how strong you are lol, i'd drop the subframe if i did it again... I pulled them out when i did it, but it wasn't easy, or the best idea tbh. Once you get there you'll realise how in accessible the rear is.

 

[JMGR33N]

Ok sounds sensible. Great advice thanks mate. Not sure when I'll get round to doing it but I'll post some pictures once I'm done.

 

[JMGR33N]

Found this which seems quite useful too

 

[Charlie Farley]

that guide makes the whole job a nice easy job, might use it as a reference for doing the work on my avant shortly.

 

[rushton]

Rears do come out without removing the subframe. They're not the best thing in the world but a little wrestle and they do go.